Published August 1984 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Halting the Runaway Trade Deficit The most recent trade figures released by the Commerce Department show that the United States is continuing to be plagued by dangerous trade shortfalls. The Commerce Department reports that the U.S. trade shortfall for the first half of 1984 is a record $59.7 billion, which is more than twice as high as the trade deficit in the first six months of last year. And, economic analysts at the Commerce Department are predicting that the worst news is yet to come. They are forecasting a year-end shortfall of between $120 billion and $130 billion, the largest trade deficit in the history of our country. Unfortunately, multibillion-dollar trade deficits are not just something for the economists to worry about. Trade deficits cost jobs; an estimated 25,000 jobs are lost or not created for every $1 billion in our trade shortfall. The trade deficit is of special concern in West Virginia because export trade plays an important role in our state's economy. The steel industry, in West Virginia and elsewhere, is a good example of how trade deficits hurt our people. The unfair dumping of subsidized foreign steel into U.S. markets is devastating America's steel industry. Imports account for nearly 25 percent of the domestic steel market. For the first six months of this year, steel imports were the highest in history, 73 percent higher than in the first half of 1983. But more than steel is at stake in America's continuing trade crisis. The trade deficit is primarily the result of an overvalued dollar, brought on by high interest rates. Thus, the enormous federal budget deficit feeds the trade deficit, and both of these record deficits undermine the foundations of our economy. A trade deficit of the magnitude we are facing threatens the economy of every state in the nation, particularly strong exporting states like West Virginia. We must take steps to ensure fair trading practices and to strengthen our economy so that this hemorrhage of jobs and dollars out of America can be stopped. August 8, 1984